Bridge Of Solitude

As Margaret and Josh were celebrating their new siblings, the hallway suddenly grew noisy. Margaret instantly noticed the change in atmosphere and turned around with a frown.

Now what?

The students in the long corridor became lively, as a group of people walked in with their heads held high and arrogant smirks on their faces. The most peculiar thing about this group were the 5-7 guys walking behind on both sides of one particular girl, as if she was their leader and they were her slaves.

As Margaret's eyes landed on the girl in the middle, her c.h.e.s.t tightened and her face darkened as she remembered a certain traumatic incident from the end of last year. She forcefully suppressed the memory back down and refused to allow that girl to have any kind of affect on her. Margaret cleared her head and let her gaze linger on the group as she observed the entourage with an empty look.

The guys were all tall, well-built and handsome hunks from 3rd and 4th year who were quite popular to begin with. They were all proud individuals with their own styles and attitudes and yet oddly compatible with each other. A few guys were dressed in semi-formal attire of plain shirt with trousers while the others were in leather jackets and jeans.

They were comfortably chatting among themselves without bothering about the gazes from the onlookers as if they were the only people present around.

And the girl at their center with a wild and unrestrained beauty was Golden Dawn's very own Harem Queen, Charlotte Matthews of 3rd year.

Her golden blonde hair was wavy and shimmering in light as it freely cascaded down her shoulders like a golden waterfall. There was a hint of playfulness in her light blue eyes while her full pink lips were curved into a confident smile.

She wore a black blazer over a white tee with black ripped jeans and a pair of high heeled calf boots as she walked forward with grace and pride. Her sense of style was casual yet sensible, with a profound charm to it.

The heck? She was as beautiful as can be. Who could possibly compete with her beauty? Margaret was getting more irritated and angry, the more she looked at that… minx.

With one last hateful glare, Margaret shifted her attention from the Harem Queen and turned towards her 'big' little brother, who was still staring ahead listlessly with a strange glow in his eyes. As she saw her innocent little brother spellbound and bewitched by the Queen's charm, Margaret's 'motherly' instincts kicked in and she immediately grabbed him by his arm and pulled him away.

She can't let this naïve, innocent boy fall into her beauty trap. She couldn't defend herself back then, but maybe she could guard him from being played and then tossed aside. She wanted to protect his innocent heart from getting tainted by that… playgirl?

Josh followed behind his big sister with confused face as Margaret dragged him further into the long hallway and turned to him with a grave expression. As Josh saw the tense and serious look on his sister's face, he grew anxious.

"Big sister, is everything-"

"Listen to me very carefully, Josh." Margaret interrupted and spoke in a stern tone as she looked into his eyes. After she saw him look at her with attention and nod his head, Margaret spoke again. "You are in a big danger."

"Me?" Josh was startled as he tilted his head and stared at his big sister with his green eyes. He didn't understand how he was suddenly in danger.

"Yes, you saw the girl that just arrived?" Margaret asked as she pointed behind while keeping her gaze fixed on Josh. She wanted to see his reaction and confirm her doubts before acting on it accordingly.

And as she expected, Josh became excited and eagerly nodded his head with a silly smile on his face. "She is beautiful, just like a-"

"No!" Margaret interrupted him anxiously and pointed her finger at him. "That's just her outer appearance. But inside, she is a cold-hearted monster who finds joy in tainting and breaking innocent hearts."

"What?" Josh was confused again. "But she doesn't-"

"Stop! Don't fall for her external charms." Margaret took a deep breath and calmed herself before she spoke again. "Listen Josh, if you trust your big sister then stay away from her, okay?"

Josh held his chin and contemplated for a long while as Margaret grew more and more nervous with every second. But as he saw the concern and worry in his big sister's eyes, he relented and nodded his head.

"If big sister says so, then Josh will stay away… from that beautiful girl." He spoke and turned his gaze towards Charlotte walking along with her harem.

Margaret felt her head twitch as she wondered if he even understood a word of what she said. She then sighed and shook her head helplessly. "Anyway, you were going to the B-Wing right? Come, big sister will show you the way."

It was hard to make him understand the gravity of the situation with just a single explanation, so she decided to nag him again later until he gets it through his head.

"Okay." Josh nodded with a smile and followed behind Margaret, but not before throwing another glance in the direction of the 'beautiful girl.'

- -

Charlotte Elizabeth Matthews, also known as Harem Queen, was notorious for playing around with boys' hearts. She would date them for a short while and then dump them mercilessly with strange and bizarre reasons before going for the next guy in line.

The 'short while' was indeed short, as her longest relationship lasted only for four days while the shortest didn't even survive a minute. But despite everything, some guys still chose to stay by her side, proclaiming their undying love for her. And these devoted warriors of love were called the Queen's Harem.

She doesn't have any rules or morals; she would date any and every guy she had taken a liking to. She doesn't care if the guy already had a girlfriend and was in a relationship, she could charm them all and make them follow her around like a puppy. In fact, she found more p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e in breaking couples and snatching the guys for her own amus.e.m.e.nt before dumping them publicly with a long list of reasons as a 'compliment'.

But unexpectedly, she was quite popular with girls as well; they viewed her as a symbol of courage and boldness. They admired her confidence and decisive attitude and ironically, a small group of girls would come to her with their relationship problems.

Charlotte always treated those girls differently from the others; she would first criticize them brutally before answering them straightforwardly and occasionally she would give them an advice or two. And in some extreme cases she would even involve herself personally to teach the guys a harsh lesson and set them straight.

This small group of loyal fan-girls call themselves Queen's Maids. Every time the Harem Queen was in university campus, they would surround her with various topics and discussions.

Just as what was happening now in the cafeteria.

- -

Charlotte sat comfortably on her 'throne' at their table, surrounded by guys and girls – her harem beside and her maids in front as she listened to some latest gossip.

"Is this… true?" Charlotte frowned, her tone laced with disbelief as she turned her light blue eyes to the girl in front. The girl, who shared the gossip, nodded her head vigorously as she knew Charlotte would be very interested in such news. And this was such explosive news too, there was no way it could be fake.

Behind Charlotte, one of the guys in her harem had an ugly expression on his face. He had a crew cut on top and a thick beard below his chin while his grey eyes shone with hatred as he glared at the girl who relayed the news.

"It is definitely true, there are many who saw the whole incident, it's just that; they were too scared to talk about it." The girl replied excitedly as she watched her queen with dazzling eyes. "But I'm sure everyone will know about it eventually."

Charlotte quickly composed herself and revealed a cold smirk as her eyes flashed with dark intent. "Interesting." She then put her elbow on the table and rested her head in her palms as she leaned on it. "Margaret Laurence, huh? Very interesting."

- -

And the girl of her 'interest' was currently standing in the same corridor she passed by a while ago.

After pointing Josh in the direction of B-Wing, Margaret returned to the hallway to attend her own classes. As she saw the rather empty corridor, Margaret was reminded of her first encounter with Harem Queen. Despite her numerous efforts to ignore it, the memory resurfaced in her mind and replayed again.

- -

That day, Margaret was walking along the similarly quiet hallway, tired and exhausted. She was heading to her next class when she saw an angry blonde yelling at her out of nowhere.

"Hey, you." The angry blonde growled, and Margaret looked around to see if she was calling out to someone behind her. But she found no one else, and as she turned back, the girl stood in front of Margaret with an ashen expression. "Do you think I'm beautiful?"

Margaret was confused and taken aback as she had no idea who the girl was or what she was talking about. The angry girl saw the blank expression on Margaret's face and became furious.

"I'm asking you, am I beautiful or not?" she demanded, staring straight into Margaret's eyes as if daring her to say otherwise.

"Y-Yes. You are beautiful." Margaret blurted out and then saw a satisfied smile bloom on the angry girl's face. But before she could make sense of what was happening, the girl stepped forward, held her face in her hands and pressed her lips firmly against Margaret's.

After completely s.u.c.k.i.n.g the breath out of Margaret, she released her and stepped back. She then smiled and nodded at Margaret's dazed face as she grumbled. "See… even girls cannot resist me, yet that guy," She clenched her fists and gnashed her teeth as she let out a frustrated breath and turned around. "Hmph, he must be gay... or impotent."

And then she walked away, leaving behind a stunned Margaret who was yet to fully comprehend what just happened. That girl came like a wind and 'stirred up' Margaret before disappearing abruptly without any kind of explanation.

Margaret spent the next day locked in her bedroom nursing the effects of the trauma before she eventually chose to bury that incident in the deepest depths of her memory and move on.

Later on, it was only after a bit of probing around did Margaret learn that the girl was the most talked about Harem Queen, who was notoriously popular among boys and girls.

Margaret etched her name and appearance in her brain and vowed never to cross paths with her ever again, under any circ.u.mstances.

But she didn't know, less than a year later, the Harem Queen herself would come looking for her.

- -

The morning classes went by without any more events, so Margaret let herself relax. She was casually strolling through the halls to find a silent corner to eat her packed lunch when she heard a loud laughter coming from around the corner which froze her on spot.

Margaret gulped down her fear and took a step forward as she stood at the corner of the wall before quietly poking her head to look over.

As she expected, she saw Jacob, along with four of his football pals huddled together further down the hallway. Jacob seemed happy for some reason as he was grinning from ear to ear before he turned to one of his friend and spoke cautiously.

"Are you sure it's true?" He asked, hesitant and anxious. He was in complete despair after what he witnessed Friday; he was thoroughly convinced it was all over for him. So, the news he heard now could only be counted as a blessing in disguise.

"Of course, Jimmy said he was there when Tyler received the phone call. And after that, Tyler was so happy they partied all night long." His football friend replied proudly as he looked at Jacob with a condescending look. "Even if you don't believe it now, it'll be all over the university when Tyler shows up tomorrow. I only told you because you seem to be too stressed."

"Well, can you blame me? You weren't there that day… you didn't see what happened." Jacob bellowed, as a shudder ran through his body with just the thought of that day. He then shook his head clear and sighed dejectedly. "Its been such a long time but I still get nightmares when I think about it."

"Haha, well then you don't need to worry anymore." His friend laughed and patted Jacob's shoulder in sympathy.

"Now you just need to get the geek to prepare your thesis report and clear the subject." Another of his friend stepped closer and 'cheered' him up. "Then you will be back in the team in no time."

"You are right." Jacob raised his head with a huge grin and laughed joyously before he spoke with a sinister tone. "Just you wait, Margie!"

A few feet behind them and around the corner, the girl listening to their conversation felt a chill down her spine. Although she didn't understand much of their exchange, Jacob's final words and his laughter reverberated in her heart, sending shivers throughout her body.

Margaret didn't stay a second more as she immediately turned tail and ran away before Jacob could notice her and put his plan into action.

She took a detour and ended up in girls' restroom where she ate her lunch. But she couldn't taste anything as she was busy worrying about her future instead. She replayed their conversion again in her mind and found two main points.

First, Jacob would now leave no stone left unturned to find her and make her do his bidding, one way or the other. And second, Tyler was going to reveal some explosive news tomorrow, but what that might be, she had no idea.

But it made her think of a guy who was deeply related to Tyler in the recent past and she desperately prayed that the announcement tomorrow had nothing to do with her friend. A friend, who was nowhere to be seen again today. She was a bit disappointed but then realized that she could just call him, instead of waiting to find him again days later. That guy was never known to be a regular student anyway; he'd go missing for days at a time, all the time.

So she thought about calling him and relay this piece of information, just in case. But it had to wait since Margaret 'stored' her mobile safely in her house instead of risking it in the outside world.

In one of these days, she vowed to remember to carry it with her, not because she had friends to call now. But only because of her mom's nagging. Yes, that was it.

After stepping out of the restroom, Margaret began to move quickly to her next class. Since it was dangerous for her to linger alone in hallway, she was in a hurry. But just as she turned a corner, she bumped head first into someone, sending things flying around as Margaret landed on her b.u.t.t.

Fall number two.

Dammit, who's keeping the count?

She slowly sat up groaning, as she held her throbbing head and tried to shake off the stars floating around. She looked ahead and saw a brown haired girl slumped down lifelessly in front of her.

Margaret frowned watching the girl just sit there silently without so much as a word. She was wearing a red plaid shirt and blue jeans as she kept her head low, her hair falling over her face and hiding her features.

"Hey, are you alright?" Margaret asked, as she leaned forward to examine her. She didn't get an answer, but she was startled by the silent tears streaming down the girl's cheeks. Margaret grew anxious as held the girl by her shoulders and shook her gently. "Hey, are you alright? Are you hurt somewhere?"

Silence and sobs.

Margaret started to panic as she looked around to find some help, but the long hallway was conveniently empty.

Were they all still eating? So useless, she grumbled as she stood up.

"Arthur..."

It was just a whimper but Margaret heard it clearly in the quiet corridor. She whipped her head back and instantly sat down in front of the girl. "What did you say?"

Did she hear that correctly?

The girl sniffled back her sobs, wiped her tears with her sleeves and raised her head. But as she saw Margaret, her dim hazel eyes teared up again and her lips began trembling with uncontrollable emotions.

"Margaret..." She cried out as she threw herself into Margaret's arms, stunning her for a moment. And before Margaret could understand the situation, the girl's voice filled with remorse and regret resounded in the quiet hall.

"Arthur... he is expelled."

It was Monday still, and Margaret lost a friend.